


Of Untold Vows

by V_Arianrhod



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29608182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V_Arianrhod/pseuds/V_Arianrhod
Summary: A call from an unknown number brings Katniss to her heels.Inspired by "Forever and Always" by Parachute
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	Of Untold Vows

It was a little past ten. Bakery hours were long past done. Katniss wondered where he was. He should be home by now.

She bit her fingernails anxiously, tapping her foot on the hardwood floor while she blew the stray hairs off her eyes. All her nervous ticks reappeared as she checked her phone once more, receiving nothing.

He would have called, he always did.

Her head would whip up to the window whenever she heard a car by the driveway, only to be disappointed again when it wasn't an orange pick-up truck. 

Then her phone rang, an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Good evening is this Ms. Everdeen?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"You were in the emergency contacts of Mr. Peeta Mellark. He was in an accident-"

The rest of the words blocked out from her ears. She didn't need to listen any longer. Peeta. _Her Peeta_. Blood rushed to her head, heart pounding ready to pop out of her chest as she rushed to Panem Hospital.

She nearly shouted from panic at the receptionist, and being in a hospital made matters worse. She never liked the pristine whiteness of it or the smell of medicine. It blinded her, made her sick. But as she walked through the corridors, for once, she didn't care.

Her legs pumped quickly to his assigned room. She was led by a nurse, explaining the situation in haste words but only broken phrases seemed to register to her.

_ Crash, truck, drunk driver, critical condition _ .

The rest of the conversation felt like background noise as her mind drifted back to March, the meadows, her love…

* * *

_ "W _hy_ do you even like March? It's the end of the cold season." Katniss asked him, laying next to Peeta.  _

_ Her left hand intertwined with his, while her right hand covered the glare from her eyes. They were under their favorite willow tree - blanket sprawled, the soft breeze enveloping them. _

_ "It's the beginning of Spring silly. When everything ends and begins again. Isn't it beautiful? Seeing how the flowers bloom and the trees grow its leaves again? It's kind of like watching the sun rise and the sun set." _

_ She scoffed, poking his side. "You turn really poetic once you talk about art and beauty. I don't know if I'll ever be able to see things like you do." _

_ "That's the thing!" He twisted his face excitedly and continued, "We experience it too Katniss. The first time we held hands, the first time we fought, the first time you poured your heart out to me. Those are also beginnings. And I find them absolutely beautiful." _

_ She didn't know what to say. He had such a way with words and she was… well, blunt and uncouth. She was sure he could see she was beet red despite her olive skin tone. _

_ He turned to her, elbow tucked under his head, smiling that smile that made her question how she could possibly deserve this man.  _

_ To her, he was as radiant as the sun- no. He was the sun itself. _

_ "I want more beginnings with you. To wake up everyday next to you, to see you smack me and laugh at my lame jokes. To drive you home after work. To make you breakfast every morning, and maybe bargain a few kisses with it. I want to do everything with you." _

_ His voice was so soft, but the way he looked at her made her heart race and ache all at once. It filled her with emotions she would have never found out if not for him. _

_ "Should we get married?" She blurted out too quickly, clamping her mouth shut in shock. _

_ He stared back at her with wide eyes, mouth opened to say something, then shut as if to take it back. She watched him do this several times until he suddenly burst into laughter. _

_ "What?" Her signature scowl surfaced, jerking her entwined hand away from him as she grumbled. He scrambled to take her hand back, lacing them back to his hold.  _

_ "I'm not making fun of you Katniss. It's just like you, to say it first before I did. You always say what you want and take it." _

_ His free hand rested on her cheek, thumb brushing across her bones. His grin was so wide as he leaned in to place a kiss on her temple, pulling their bodies closer. "I love that about you. Like the rest of the little things you do." _

_ She placed her palm on the hand resting on her, squeezing it softly as she smiled "So is that a yes? Do I have to get down one knee?" _

_ "You know I can't say no to you. But you did ruin my grand plan of proposing to you at sunset on a mountain peak with Taylor Swift in the background." _

_ "It's a good thing you didn't. I would have pushed you off." _

* * *

It felt like an eternity - an endless maze - before they reached the door. She slid it open, found her other half spread in the white sheets, tubes attached to him as a lifeline. Her legs trembled, but she scrambled to his side in an instant.

Her hands hovered on the places not covered in bruises, in his blood, in fear of hurting him. But when she saw him lift his unscathed hand, she reached for it. Her grip was a little too tight, but she feared he would drift if she let go.

"Hey." She croaked.

"Hi sweetheart." He responded, voice thick with exhaustion.

She swiped his stray curls from his face, softly brushing his scalp with the tip of her nails just how he wanted it. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

"Sounds about right." She chuckled softly. She noticed how pale he was, his lips almost white. She hid her grimace, her hand covering the raw aching pain releasing from the tip of her lips.

"You'll be okay Peeta. They have the best doctors here.”

He responded with a slow nod, but his contorted face afterwards made it seem the gesture pained him.

"Hey," she nudged him gently. "We still have so many things to do together. We were on our way to buy that house, remember? You've been visiting it every week to check for the prices to go down."

"It was like our dream home came to life you know? The moment I saw it, I said this is the one."

She frowned and pointed out, "We haven't even bought a dog yet."

His voice was too soft, much too soft that it terrified her. "Yeah. We'll call him Sourdough right? To let the Mellark naming legacy live on." 

She chuckled through her tears and sniffed loudly this time. "Yeah, because I'm sure I won't let you be the one to name our little ones."

He paused before muttering. "I thought you didn't want kids."

"With you, I do."

Unshed tears pooled in his blues, his lips quivering into a smile. "This may be the happiest day of my life."

"It will be mine too once you pull through this. So stay with me Peeta. Stay with me."

"Always."

She chanted the words like a prayer, wrapped his calloused hand with hers. She watched him intently - his eyes blinking slowly, as if he was drifting in and out. She would squeeze her hold whenever his eyes would shut too long and kept whispering of the future they would have. 

She turned to the doctor. The dread and sadness in his eyes mirrored hers. He couldn't find the words.

Neither could she, and she had to choke a sob. 

No. She won't let him go.  _ Never _ .

She called for the nurses, asked for favors. They would bring her a chaplain soon, while she received the two simple bands she wanted to borrow. Her fingers brushed lightly across the rings she borrowed from the married doctors. She removed her braid, letting her brown locks sway lightly on her shoulders as sat beside her lover once more.

"Peeta." She said softly, brushing his cheek with soft strokes. "Peeta, let's get married right now. You said you wanted my hair down right?"

She heard him chuckle. She etched the pitch and breathy laughter into her mind as he replied. "Too excited to be stuck with me?"

"Shut up Mellark."

"Whatever you say, future Mellark." 

They both ignored how hoarse his voice sounded.

The preacher arrived and the rites began. The nurses gathered and even placed a bouquet of dandelions they found by the backyard. The amount of people that began to witness their love began piling. Very unlike Katniss, she felt happy for the amount of publicity they had. 

Let them watch. 

_ Let them know he was hers no matter what form it may be. _

"Look, they even brought us dandelions. Reminds you of our place doesn't it?" She whispered in his ear, not wanting to interrupt the rites.

He smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The preacher looked to her, and she began her vows. All the while looking into his eyes that have dimmed considerably. The strikingly blue ocean she always admired was now as pale as the iced snow. She had to swallow her cry.

"I- I've been grateful since I met you. You made me see the good things in life, and told me of the beauty in the little things. I didn't understand then, but that day… when we decided to get married. I knew. Realized a lot. I love how you would stick your tongue out when you were focused, how you scrunch your nose when the taste of your recipe doesn't satisfy you, how you stomp like a bear when we hike, how you always keep those obnoxious socks I gave you even though they were worn and full of holes...

Because of you, I can say I've had and am having the best time of my life. And we'll be happier together, make new memories, see Prim graduate, see Rye finally get married. And we'll grow old together. Watch our blonde haired daughter and blue-eyed son grow to be brilliant and fearless. Just like us.

I love you Peeta Mellark. Forever and always."

She hovered over him, her tears trickling down to him through her smile. She pressed her lips to his forehead tenderly, cradling his face with both hands, memorizing each stroke and line that adorned him. 

The silence was deafening, her ears toning down the broken sobs of the witnesses. All she could see was him. All she could hear was his shallow breath. Then the beeps of the monitor slowed. Slower.

His tear-stained cheeks trembled, speaking so softly as he called out her name in the sweetest yet desperate tone he could muster. "Katniss…"

She held his hand tighter, his hand cold to the touch. "Even if I'm not there, please just remember. I'll always love you."

His grip loosened, his voice was almost too low for her to hear.

"Forever and always."

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a story for this song years ago, and today I just wanted to relive it. I've always been hung over this song, and wanted to share my own take on it.
> 
> Thank you for reading up until the end.


End file.
